Busy Bodies

Claire Malloy Mysteries

Joan Hess

Minotaur Books

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Since his recent arrival, avant-garde artist Zeno Gorgias has been turning heads and attracting gawkers in the otherwise tame college town of Farberville Arkansas. Zeno’s “interactive” art—featuring an undressed woman lounging beside a coffin on his front yard—is neither welcome by the community nor punishable by law. But as local bookseller and amateur sleuth Claire Malloy is about to find out, sometimes there’s a dark side to one’s freedom of artistic expression…

Strange things keep happening to Zeno and his oeuvre. First, his estranged wife comes to town, demanding he be committed to a mental institution. Then Zeno’s house mysteriously goes up in flames. And if that’s not enough, a dead body is found inside of the infamous coffin. Now that Zeno has been arrested for murder, it’s up to Claire to figure out what on earth is going on in Farberville…while the real killer remains on the loose.

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Book Excerpts

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Chapter One

 

I am not an adept liar, which I think speaks well for my character. However, this deficiency has propelled me into sticky situations in the past, and I had a foreboding feeling it was about to do so again.

 

"Tea, Miss Parchester?" I said into the telephone receiver. "I'd love to, but I—I simply don't see when I could—well, I was planning on organizing my files, and I promised Caron that I'd drive her and Inez to the mall, and—"

 

Miss Emily Parchester had taught high-school students for forty years

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Reviews

Praise for Busy Bodies

“Wickedly amusing.”—Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

“A tangled maze of mischief, greed, and murder.”—Mostly Murder

“A winning series [and] sleuth.”—Houston Chronicle

“If you’ve never spent time with Claire and her crew…you’ll see wit and humanity all wrapped up in a nifty murder mystery.”—Harlan Coben

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About the Author

Joan Hess

JOAN HESS is the author of both the Claire Malloy and the Maggody mystery series. She is a winner of the American Mystery Award, a member of Sisters in Crime, and a former president of the American Crime Writers League. She lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Joan Hess

Photo: Charles E. Roberts
Joan Hess

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Available Formats and Book Details

Busy Bodies
Claire Malloy Mysteries
Joan Hess

Mass Market Paperbound

Mass Market Paperbound
St. Martin's Press
Minotaur Books
April 2009
Mass Market Paperbound
ISBN: 9780312384623
ISBN10: 0312384629
4 3/16 x 6 3/4 inches, 304 pages
$6.99
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e-Book Agency
St. Martin's Press
Minotaur Books
April 2009
e-Book Agency
ISBN: 9781429966023
ISBN10: 1429966025
304 pages
$5.99
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